The Law Handbook 2024

784 Section 8: Disability, mental illness and the law Private premises, including rental premises, are not subject to discrimination complaints relating to access to the built environment under the DD Act. However, the EO Act provides for complaints regarding any refusal to allow alterations (including their restoration) at the cost of the person with the disability. Other complaints about disability discrimination in accommodation are subject to the ‘unjustifiable hardship’ test (see ‘Employment’, above) under the DD Act. For more information about making complaints regarding discrimination, see Chapter 11.1: Discrimination and human rights. NOTE The DRC made a range of recommendations about the regulation and safety of disability specific accommodation settings such as group homes, supported disability accommodation and supported residential services. Residents of these settings do have a range of enforceable rights, and attempts to evict a resident can be challenged through the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). If you have concerns about the safety or rights of a person living in any of these settings you can contact Villamanta Disability Rights Legal Service Inc for more information. (See ‘Contacts’ at the end of this chapter). Access to premises Under the DD Act, it is unlawful for public places to be inaccessible to people with disability. Indeed, every area open to the public should be open to people with disability. A person with disability should expect to be able to enter and make use of places used by the public, if a person without disability can do so. This means being accessible at the entrance and inside buildings including facilities in these places (e.g. wheelchair-accessible toilets, lift buttons within reach, tactile and audible lift signals for people with vision impairments) and seating arrangements that are not second-rate or segregated. This applies to existing places as well as those under construction. Building access issues also arise under other DD Act provisions, including in relation to employment, access to services, and accommodation. The Building Code of Australia ( BCA ) and Australian Standard 1428 ( AS 1428 ) regulate access to buildings and establish minimum requirements in relation to access. These requirements form the Access to Premises Standard . For more information, see ‘Disability Standards’, below. Disability Standards Section 31 of the DD Act authorises the Commonwealth Attorney-General to formulate ‘standards’ to be known as Disability Standards in relation to employment, education, accommodation, provision of public transportation services and facilities, and administration of Commonwealth laws and programs. Standards are compulsory and are designed to promote minimum compliance with disability access requirements. For more information contact the AHRC (see ‘Contacts’ at the end of this chapter). Limitations on rights Compulsory treatment Compulsory treatment under the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act The Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 (Vic) (‘ MHW Act’ ) defines as one of its purposes to “restate the law relating to the treatment of persons living with mental illness”. Mental illness is defined at s 4 as “a medical condition that is characterised by a significant disturbance of thought, mood, perception or memory”. Compulsory treatment under the MHW Act is discussed in detail in Chapter 8.4: Mental illness. Supervised treatment under the Disability Act Supervised treatment orders can be made under the Disability Act where the person has an intellectual disability. Section 3 of the Disability Act provides the relevant definition: A “cognitive impairment”, in relation to a person over the age of five years, means the concurrent existence of: a significant sub-average general intellectual functioning; and b significant deficits in adaptive behaviour each of which became manifest before the age of 18 years. A supervised treatment order ( STO ) is an order made by VCAT under section 191 of the Disability Act.